Holiday Desserts

The gifts have been opened, and the feast has been served. Now it's time for one of the most anticipated parts of the day – a glorious holiday dessert. Whether a comforting, homespun family favorite or a spectacular extravaganza, on this day it's all about indulgence. Since this is the season to pull out all the stops, here are three masterpieces with true decadence and delicious taste.

Chocolate Ganache and

Caramel Pecan Tart

Yield: 1, 9-inch tart to serve 6-8

I found a wonderful tart pan at Williams Sonoma that makes this dessert a snap to create. This pie's rich, luscious layers satisfy both chocolate lovers and those of us who crave caramel.

In a heavy saucepan, bring heavy cream to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until completely melted. Cool slightly.

Spread 2/3 of the ganache over cooled crust, reserving remainder. Cool completely (I place in the freezer for 20 minutes).

Caramel filling:

• ¾ cup sugar

• 1/3 cup water

• 1/3 cup heavy cream

• 5 tablespoons butter

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Place sugar and water in heavy saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer, swirling pan but not stirring. Cover saucepan with lid, and boil one minute. Remove lid and cook, swirling pan (not stirring), until mixture turns light golden brown.

Remove from heat and stir until mixture loses its high heat and is warm to the touch (not hot). Spread entire caramel mixture over ganache filling.

Drizzle reserved ganache over caramel layer in a decorative design. Refrigerate at least one hour, uncovered.

Marcus's Cheesecake Supreme

with Candied Cranberries

Yield: one 9-inch cheesecake to serve 12 – 16

Marcus Hughes (living the retired life with his wife, Lorna) loves to cook, and more importantly, loves to share his fabulous creations with friends and family. His cheesecake is absolutely the best I've ever tasted, and I'm so glad he agreed to share the recipe with all of us. Go to fwtx.com for the Candied Cranberries that top the cake.

Crust:

• 2 cups flour

• ½ cup sugar

• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

• 1 cup butter, melted

• 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

• ½ teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine flour, sugar and lemon zest. Use a fork to stir in butter until crumbly. Add egg yolk and vanilla and mix well. Pat 1/3 of the dough on the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake until golden brown, about 8 minutes; cool. Use remaining dough to build crust around the sides of the pan. Set aside.

Filling:

• 5, 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature

• ¼ teaspoon vanilla

• ¾ teaspoon grated lemon zest

• 1 ¾ cups sugar

• 3 tablespoons flour

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 5 eggs

• 2 egg yolks

• ¼ cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. With a mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in vanilla and lemon zest. In a small bowl, stir together sugar, flour and salt. Blend gradually into cream cheese. Add eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each. Gently fold in whipped cream and pour into crust-lined pan.

Bake 12 minutes, then reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake another 55 minutes (top will be brown and inflated). Remove from oven, let stand 45 minutes, loosen sides of springform pan and cool for two hours minimum.

If desired, cover top of cooled cheesecake with Candied Cranberries (recipe online at fwtx.com).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fit a pastry bag with No. 804 round tip, or have an iced teaspoon ready for forming dough.

In medium saucepan, heat water and butter to rolling boil. Add flour and stir vigorously over low heat about one minute or until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat.

Beat in eggs, all at one time; continue beating until smooth. Fill prepared pastry bag, if using. Form one-inch mounds, two inches apart, on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 20-30 minutes or until browned and completely dry. Cool completely. This will give you about 36 profiteroles.

Repeat recipe so you will have about 72 profiteroles.

Use a pastry bag fitted with a No. 4 tip. Fill bag with whipped cream and insert tip into side of one cream puff; squeeze bag to fill with whipped cream. Fill all cream puffs.

Make syrup and form

Croquembouche:

• 2 cups sugar

• ½ cup light corn syrup

• ½ cup water

• 1, 10-inch cake board (available where cake supplies are sold)

Place sugar, corn syrup, and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover pan with lid and continue boiling for one minute. Remove lid and boil to 300 degrees on candy thermometer.

Remove from heat and swirl pan a few minutes until syrup cools slightly. Dip profiteroles, one at a time, into the caramel and arrange in a circle around the outside of the 10-inch cake board, allowing the syrup to "glue" them together. Dip several profiteroles and place in center of ring to fill in. Continue this process, building a tall cone shape. Any remaining syrup can be drizzled around the finished cone, if desired. Decorate with spun sugar (recipe at fwtx.com).